How to Use the Semicolon Correctly in English
Although the semicolon (;) is used more rarely these days than it once was and is even considered redundant by some writers, it remains an effective piece of punctuation with very specific functions in English prose. For those authors who report the results of sophisticated scientific or academic research, the semicolon can be extremely useful for enhancing the communication of all kinds of data and clarifying their relationships to each other. It is essential, however, to use this piece of punctuation correctly if it is to have the desired effect.
Unfortunately, the semicolon is frequently misused, which may be part of the reason why it tends to evoke ambivalent feelings from some writers and readers. It is often used, for instance, instead of words such as ‘for instance,’ ‘for example,’ ‘namely,’ ‘because,’ ‘that is’ and the like to introduce an explanation, example, description, elaboration or illustration of what has appeared before it. This usage is incorrect, however, and it is a colon (:), not a semicolon, that should be used in such contexts. In fact, although the semicolon may resemble the colon in appearance, its function is actually similar to that of a comma or full stop, with the pause it indicates stronger or longer than the pause specified by a comma, but weaker or shorter than that indicated by a stop.
More often than not, a semicolon functions rather like a full stop, with its most common use being to provide punctuation between two independent or main clauses that are not joined by a conjunction and could, if they were separated by a stop instead, form two sentences. In such cases, the semicolon generally implies a closer relationship between the two clauses than a full stop would.
The error known as a comma splice can be corrected by using a semicolon instead of a comma. This error occurs when two main clauses (whether they share a subject or have different subjects) are joined together into one sentence with only a comma between them, and also when two main clauses are linked only by an adverb or adverbial phrase and a comma. For example, comma splices occur in ‘I love running when the air is cool, I go jogging nearly every morning’ and ‘She was tired, nevertheless she finished the job.’ Both of these passages can be corrected simply by using a semicolon instead of the comma in each instance, though some writers might also add a comma after the word ‘nevertheless’ in the second example.
When a semicolon is used with a function similar to that of a comma, it provides a more significant division than a comma can. A semicolon is used, for instance, instead of a comma between two main clauses that are joined by a conjunction and already contain internal commas, in which case the semicolon clarifies the sentence structure. Similarly, semicolons are used instead of commas to intensify the divisions and clarify the relationships between the items in a series or list in which the individual items are complex and already contain commas and other punctuation.
Finally, in scholarly writing semicolons are often used to separate individual references in an author–date system of citation when two or more references are gathered in a single set of parentheses, as they are in (Black, 2012; Chen, 2007; Kipler, 2015; Smith, 2013). Semicolons can be used in a similar way in a note-based system of referencing when more than one citation is included in a single note.
